Sunday, January 24, 2016

Up yours!

(...which I, as a responsible adult, do most definitely not endorse, pinky swear...)*cough*...I thought this would make the perfect excuse to try that funky recipe that makes not only beer, but the humble can itself, the true star of the process. And yes, I'm talking about Beer Can Chicken - or, as the most baffling of YouTubers would say,"il pollo con la birra nel culo". Uh... please don't bother Google-translating that.

Now even if you don't speak Italian (and, believe me, in this particular instance you're better off not understanding a word of it), the video should give you a fairly good idea of how it's done. In the end, though, I ended up picking this recipe - from How Sweet It Is once again, big surprise - which is a lot easier, and doesn't require a syringe... nor veggies. Ewww, veggies. Aaand here it is...

As you can see, I used a Radler-type thingie (for the tee-totalers out there: that would be a lemon-flavoured beer) that I would never ever drink, but actually works fine with the citrus slices in this recipe. Taste aside, it was one of those slim, high cans and as such it was a perfect choice for the job at hand.

The chicken ended up wonderful, with crispy, slightly spicy skin and incredibly tender and juicy meat (although, let's be honest, the skin is what you should be excited about if you're at all human).

Needless to say, I washed the can with the utmost care before the, ah, insertion.

As for the possibility that the print on the can might be harmful... I'm no chemist, but I'm not that concerned tbh. So many people have done this and survived, and I'm not going to eat beer can chicken every day, either.

In the end, of course, it's going to be your call. But if you're willing to push out of your comfort zone a little, give this thing a try. It's awesome!

I'll be honest: even now I can't look at the pics in this post without thinking of such choice pearls of SF as Ed Bryant's Dancing Chickens, or Snuff Movie by Nicoletta Vallorani.(No I'm not linking these short stories. I read both years ago, and I'm still scarred. They are not for the queasy, and once read you definitely can't un-read them. You've been warned.)So... yeah, I had my doubts too, but in all honesty the chicken turned out so perfect that this recipe's a keeper. I think children would love it as well, since I remember how dryness was my main issue with poultry as a kid, and the beer makes even the breast meat really tender. Oh, and one last word of advice: remember Murphy's Law is at work, always. Meaning: no matter what you do, the chicken will want to topple. Place your can in an old pan, and place the pan on a larger sheet pan - you definitely don't want your oven flooded with beer and bird grease!